Review
Mulberry’s restaurant is situated in the village of Barna, about ten miles from Galway City on the road to Spiddal and beyond. This is a busy place at all times with well thought out menus that tick all the boxes for bistro and family friendly dining. Add a good chef, two young and energetic owners, friendly staff and a very pleasing room and the setting is right for a very good dining experience.
Mulberry’s forms part of a new development of shops and businesses, and is very nicely designed. The outside is painted a shade of duck egg blue, which even in the lashing rain looks inviting. Inside, there is a feeling of space, and the shiny wooden floors are set off by pale walls, but softened by an ever changing art display by local artist Andrea Rossi, whose canvases throw off colour and whose themes of food and the sea suit the space. Just inside the door there is a wine bar section with platters and plates available, while the main dining area is around the bar.
The main room is cleverly divided with pillars and natural wooden woven screens. The menu is modern and offers a range of starters from soups, pates’, fish cakes, seared scallops and classic Caesar salad. Main courses continue to run through the range of bistro favourites, and you can choose from a choice of steaks, braised lamb shank, Parma wrapped monkfish or roast rack of pork. There is also a fairly comprehensive choice of pastas, running to about ten.
We dropped in for Sunday lunch on what had to be one of the wettest days in this country of wet days. The welcome was warm, and we needed it. Bottles of water and bread materialised and we set to ordering, which ended up with Deirdre enjoying a little pan of perfect crab claws with homemade brown bread to mop up the delicious garlic butter. I had a sliced pork belly with a rocket and parmesan salad which was light and tasty, but I think she got the star performer in this round. Dee then went for the special of halibut served on a crab risotto, while I had a lovely price of haddock on a delicious bed of Savoy cabbage sautéed with bacon. A side of roasted potatoes were good, but the carrots finished in brown sugar and cumin was delicious.
We couldn’t do dessert, but finished with good coffees. We really liked Mulberry’s, and if you are in the area, we think you will too. Good food honestly made and presented means they will keep going from strength to strength. This is a real neighbourhood restaurant with aspirations to continue to improve, which is just as it should be. Recommended.
